Fulbright - National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship

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The Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship was launched in 2013 as a new component of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. It provides opportunities for U.S. citizens to participate in an academic year of overseas travel and digital storytelling in up to three countries on a globally significant theme.

Candidates from all fields are encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to candidates with demonstrated experience and talent in digital storytelling. Candidates must have completed at least an undergraduate degree by the commencement of the Fulbright award.

The wide variety of new digital media tools and platforms has created an unprecedented opportunity for people from all disciplines and backgrounds to share observations and personal narratives with global audiences online. These storytelling tools are powerful resources as we seek to expand our knowledge of pressing transnational issues and build ties across cultures.

Through the Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship, Fulbrighters will undertake an in-depth examination of a globally relevant issue, comparing and contrasting how that issue is experienced across borders. Utilizing a variety of digital storytelling tools, including text, photography, video, audio, graphic illustrations, and/or social media, Fellows will tell their stories, or the stories of those they meet, publishing their work on a dedicated blog hosted on the National Geographic. Stories deemed by National Geographic to be of interest or merit may be considered for publication on other National Geographic platforms. In addition to receiving Fulbright benefits (for travel, stipend, health, etc.), Fellows will receive instruction in digital storytelling techniques, applicable to Fellows’ projects, including effective blog writing, video production, photography, and other relevant training, by National Geographic staff prior to their departure. Fellows will be paired with one or more National Geographic editors for continued training, editorial direction and mentoring throughout their Fulbright grant period. Fellows will provide material for a blog on the National Geographic website on a frequent and ongoing basis throughout their grant term, and will have the opportunity to develop additional content for use by National Geographic and the Department of State.

Applications for the 2017-2018 academic year will be accepted for the following themes: Nature and Environment, People and Place, and Sustainability and Production (for details please see Fellowship Themes ).

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Featured Fulbrighters

Robin McLay (1998-1999) has occupied senior management positions at CIDA, the Canadian School for Public Service, the Institute for the Study of International Development (ISID) at McGill, and the MasterCard Foundation.

Dr. Shannon Risk (2008-2009) is Associate Professor in the Department of History, Director of the Womens' Studies Minor, and Fulbright Advisor at Niagara University. She is also a prolific writer and innovative storyteller.

Andrew (2010-2011) graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Hofstra University with a B.A. in Political Science. He Earned an M.A. in Critical Disability Studies from York University in Toronto while on his Fulbright Fellowship.

Michael Geist (1996-1997), Canada Research Chair in Internet and E Commerce at the University of Ottawa, was named one of the 50 most influential people in intellectual property by Managing Intellectual Property magazine.

Dr. Sandy Y.M. Ng (2011-2012) was a member of the inaugural class of the Fulbright NEXUS Scholar program. A faculty member at Queen’s University, she took up her Fulbright award at Stanford University.

Dr. Earl Fry (1995-1996), a professor of Political Science and endowed professor of Canadian Studies at Brigham Young University, spent his Fulbright year in Canada at the University of Toronto and has not looked back.

Are you ready to start your journey?

About Fulbright

The Foundation for Educational Exchange between Canada and the United States of America (Fulbright Canada) is a binational, treaty-based, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization with a mandate to identify the best and brightest minds in both countries and engage them in residential academic exchange.